1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to a door and in particular to a translating door. Still more particularly, the present disclosure relates to a translating door in an aircraft.
2. Background
Commercial aircraft may have a fuselage with a number of different openings to allow for the movement of passengers and/or cargo egress in and out of the aircraft. These openings may include doors to provide for the closure of the openings during flight. The doors used in the aircraft may vary in terms of construction and operation.
A commonly used door may be a plug door. A plug door may be a door designed to fit into the opening such that when the door is closed, a substantially smooth, continuous, uninterrupted exterior skin surface may be present. When these types of doors are opened, the doors may move through a number of different paths depending on the particular door design used.
For example, without limitation, some aircraft doors may move inwardly into the aircraft and slide upwardly along tracks deployed on the interior of the fuselage. This door may be received within a compartment immediately above the ceiling of the passenger cabin.
In other aircraft, a door may be pivoted and moved slightly inboard and then moved outwardly through the opening. This type of door may swing or move in an arc that is around 180 degrees. As a result, when this type of door is fully opened, the door may be entirely located outside of the aircraft fuselage. The outer skin of the door may be in face to face contact with the outer skin of the fuselage.
In yet another design, the door may be capable of a translating motion. The door may translate or move outwardly. When the door is fully opened, the door may occupy a position in which the interior surface of the door may be facing the exterior skin of the fuselage. With this type of door, the movement is moved about a vertical and/or near vertical hinge axis.
This final type of outwardly opening translatory door may provide a number of different challenges in opening and/or closing the door. It may be desirable to avoid contact between the door and the fuselage of the aircraft during opening and/or closing of the door.
This type of translating movement may be provided through different mechanisms and/or structures to maintain the door in a parallel position to the opening for the door during movement of the door between a closed position and an open position. Particularly during initial opening and/or final closing, with the door close to the adjacent fuselage, tighter control of the door may be needed than that provided by the overall translating mechanism. Currently used mechanisms for this tighter control may be complex, heavy, ineffective, and/or expensive.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to have a method and apparatus that overcomes the problems described above as well as possibly other problems.